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Place dossier plate
SheetIN-FOWLER-IN · Fowler, IN 2,286 pop · income 22nd pct · 3 tracts
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Fowler
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Fowler on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Estill · lowest
36,547
Estill · lowest
36,547 median HH income
40.5% of the leader · rank #1
La Croft · near
51,650
La Croft · near
51,650 median HH income
57.2% of the leader · rank #2
Drayton · near
51,650
Drayton · near
51,650 median HH income
57.2% of the leader · rank #3
Fowler · this city
51,654
Fowler · this city
51,654 median HH income
57.2% of the leader · rank #4
Pine City · near
51,654
Pine City · near
51,654 median HH income
57.2% of the leader · rank #5
Athens-Clarke… · near
51,655
Athens-Clarke… · near
51,655 median HH income
57.2% of the leader · rank #6
Hanapepe · highest
90,319
Hanapepe · highest
90,319 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Fowler on ACS population and median household income
. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 2,286.
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Fowler places in the 22nd percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
22nd
percentile, household income
13th
percentile, home value
27th
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Fowler, IN
2,286 people live in Fowler, Indiana - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in Fowler report a median income of $51,654 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 8.1%. Home values in Fowler run a median of $110,300, and the median resident age is 40.6 years. Educational attainment runs 16.3% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 55.4% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 0 residential building permits were authorized in Fowler (No Permits), down 100% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data.
Living costs in Indiana run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Indiana scores 93.3 (Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,096 per month. Monthly utility costs average around $235 across Indiana, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. Natural-hazard exposure scores 45.5 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Fowler's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from population change to work and mobility to within-city variation to housing and income to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Fowler, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, within-city Census tract profiles, annual population history, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for matched public-school count, FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Is Fowler growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +52 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +2.2% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 0 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
What does the journey to work look like in Fowler?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 84.3%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
Which cities make useful reference points for Fowler?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.
Within Indiana, the closest population matches are Jasonville (2,269 residents, $36,607 income); Spencer (2,308 residents, $47,994 income); Kouts (2,261 residents, $75,854 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Hinckley, IL (2,286 residents); North Conway, NH (2,286 residents); Estill, SC (2,287 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Fowler?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.1 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 8.1%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
2.1×
Home value
$110,300
Household income
$51,654
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Indiana average
D
City profile score · Fowler, IN
41/100
4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living B
93.3 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Poverty rate D
8.1%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
16.3%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$51,654
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Fowler profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 72/100 (B) · 93.3 index
Poverty rate: 47/100 (D) · 8.1%
Bachelor's+ share: 24/100 (F) · 16.3%
Household income: 23/100 (F) · $51,654
How does Fowler compare to other US cities?
Where Fowler sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income22% higher than other cities
Home value13% pricier than other cities
Median rent27% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Fowler against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Indiana only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Indiana-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Fowler near the bottom of Indiana's cities
Among the 850 Indiana cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Fowler ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Fowler only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#574 of 766
25th percentile in Indiana
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 850
0th percentile in Indiana
Median Home Value
#520 of 771
33rd percentile in Indiana
Poverty Rate
#368 of 849
56th percentile in Indiana
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#386 of 850
54th percentile in Indiana
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Indiana only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
22nd percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Fowler's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$110,300Among the most affordablemore affordable than 87% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Fowler's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.1×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#2,163 of 15,516
More affordable than 86% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#2,046 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.1×, Fowler sits in the affordable band:
national rank #2,163 of 15,516 and #2,046 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$51,654Fowler, IN median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Fowler, IN median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Fowler, IN.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)16.3%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)8.1%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)55.4%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
2,286
Median Income
$51,654
Median Home Value
$110,300
Median Age
40.6
Poverty Rate
8.1%
Labor force participation
55.4%
Bachelor's Degree+
16.3%
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Fowler's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
2,334 residents
2021
2,333 residents
2022
2,328 residents
2023
2,356 residents
2024
2,386 residents
2025
2,386 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
Total Permits (2024)
0
housing units authorized
Single-Family
0
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
3
3
0
$0.4M
2020
3
3
0
$0.4M
2021
3
3
0
$0.4M
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
0
0
0
-
2024
0
0
0
-
Permit volume decreased 100% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
84.3%
Carpool
7.5%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.8%
Work from Home
5.6%
Other
1.8%
Based on 928 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Indiana statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $235
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Indiana at $235 (electricity about $110 , water and sewer about $45 ).
These are Indiana statewide averages, not a meter reading for Fowler. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Indiana's BEA cost-of-living index is 93.3 (Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Fowler is $1,096/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Indiana statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 45.5 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Indiana statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Fowler sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Fowler compares to similar-size Indiana cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.